StoryCorps’ Dave Isay Says Love Is ‘All There Is’

February 14, 2012

(Courtesy of StoryCorps and The Penguin Press)

Valentine’s Day is upon us, and whether you’ll be spending your evening snuggled up with your valentine or home alone drinking red wine and cursing commercialized holidays, it’s hard to deny the power of love.

Some would say that love is all there is. And one of those people is Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, an oral history project that has collected more than 40,000 interviews in the past eight years.

If you haven’t heard of it, the concept is simple. Two people go into a recording booth and interview each other for 40 minutes. Parents and children. Siblings. Friends. Sweethearts.

These interviews are archived, capturing elements of the human experience that resonate with every generation.

StoryCorps’ latest collection is devoted to the romantic stories the organization has gathered from across the country. It’s called “All There Is”, and author Dave Isay joined Radio Boston from New York to discuss the book.

Guest:

Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps and author/editor of “All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps”

Excerpt: “All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps”

“My wife and I were in Philadelphia, and we saw a sign that said SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE. I never will forget it: It had six points to always say to your wife or husband and the first one was YOU LOOK GREAT. The second one ws CAN I HELP? The third one: LET’S EAT OUT. The fourth one was I WAS WRONG. And the fifth one was I AM SORRY. But the last and most important one was I LOVE YOU. That was it. There were six statements, and it said if you follow that, you’ll have a successful marriage. So we followed it, and we did have a successful marriage.

“It lasted fifty-three years, two months, and five days. It’s been rough, but every morning when I wake up she’s included in my prayers, and I talk to her every night when I go to bed. She was something. One thing: If they ever let me in those pearly gates, I’m going to walk all over God’s heaven until I find that girl. And the first thing I’m going to do is ask her if she would marry me, and do it all over again.”

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